Last verified: October 16, 2026. Every Spain SIM card price on this page comes from the operators’ own tariff pages, read on October 16, 2026: Movistar, Vodafone, Orange and Yoigo for prepaid, AT&T, Verizon, Three and O2 for roaming, and Airalo for the eSIM. Prepaid tiers change every few months, so I re-check them monthly and update the date above each time.
A Spain SIM card from Movistar costs €10 for 28 days and includes 60 GB of data, with unlimited national calls (Movistar, 2026). Roaming from the US costs that much in a day: AT&T’s International Day Pass and Verizon’s TravelPass both charge $12 per line per day (AT&T, Verizon, 2026).
One day of roaming costs about the same as four weeks of local data.
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So the Spain SIM card question isn’t really about finding a deal. The question is which route fits your trip: roam on your home plan, install an eSIM before you fly, or buy a Spanish SIM after you land. This guide answers that, including the passport law at the till that most guides skip.
Key Takeaways
- A Spain SIM card from Movistar costs €10 for 60 GB over 28 days; Vodafone’s €10 plan has 90 GB and Orange’s 80 GB (operators’ own pages, October 2026).
- For trips under three weeks, an eSIM installed before you fly is the easiest option: Airalo lists a Spain eSIM with 10 GB for 30 days at €13.
- Buying a physical SIM in Spain requires your passport. Ley 25/2007 makes operators register every prepaid customer’s name, nationality and identity document. eSIMs from international providers skip this.
- AT&T and Verizon charge $12 a day to roam. UK travellers pay £2 or £2.75 a day on Three, from £2.72 on EE, while O2 includes EU roaming up to 25 GB.
- Movistar won Opensignal’s Best Network award for Spain in April 2026, and Telefónica reports 95% 5G coverage in Spain.
Table of Contents
Getting connected is one line of a bigger plan, so if this is your first trip, start with my complete Spain travel planning guide.
Do You Need a SIM Card in Spain?
Only if your home plan makes Spain expensive, and that depends on where your plan is from. EU and EEA SIMs roam in Spain at no extra cost under the roam-like-at-home rules. UK plans vary by network.
O2 includes roaming in its Europe Zone at no extra cost up to 25 GB (O2, 2026). Three charges £2 a day on plans started between October 2021 and December 17, 2025, and £2.75 a day on newer ones (Three, 2026). EE’s travel passes start from £2.72 a day (EE, 2026).
Americans, Canadians and Australians have no such protection, which is why a Spain SIM card is standard advice for transatlantic visitors. At $12 a day, AT&T’s and Verizon’s passes add up to $120 across a ten-day trip, and Verizon slows you to 3G speeds after the first 5 GB.
For a two-day city break, honestly, Wi-Fi alone can work. Spanish hotels, cafés and many trains offer usable Wi-Fi. But the moment you need Google Maps on a street corner, a taxi app at midnight or a restaurant booking on the move, offline travel stops being a saving and starts being a tax on your time. That’s when a Spain SIM card earns its slot in the trip budget.
Spain also runs on QR menus and online ticket queues more than most visitors expect. My guide to getting around Spain is full of booking links you’ll want on the move.
eSIM or Physical SIM: Which Is Right for Your Trip?
For most visitors staying under three weeks, the eSIM wins. An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone: you buy a plan online before you fly, scan a QR code, and your phone connects the moment the plane’s doors open. No shop, no queue, no ID.
The bigger difference is the paperwork. Every physical SIM sold in Spain is registered to an identity document at purchase. Of the two local options, an eSIM is the only one that skips the store and the ID check, and the only one you can set up before you land.
I totalled the real cost of ten days of data across four setups, because per-day prices hide the damage. Converted at the European Central Bank’s October 16 rates, US day-pass roaming comes to about €107. Three’s UK day pass totals about €33. A 10 GB Spain eSIM costs €13, and a Movistar SIM from a city-centre store is €10.
A physical Spain SIM card wins in two cases. Your phone doesn’t support eSIM, which is true of many older phones and some budget Androids, or you’re staying a month or more, where Spanish prepaid data per euro is hard to beat. A dual-SIM setup gives you the best of both: your home number stays live for banking texts while Spanish data does the work.
How to Buy a Prepaid SIM Card in Spain (Step by Step)
Bring your physical passport, because the sale needs it. Ley 25/2007, in force since November 2007, requires operators to keep a register of every prepaid customer’s name, nationality and the type and number of their identity document (BOE, Ley 25/2007, 2007). The store handles the registration on the spot.
Buying a Spain SIM card in a store is simple:
- Find an official carrier store. Movistar, Vodafone and Orange shops are on every Spanish high street.
- Present your passport. The clerk checks it and registers the SIM to your name and document number.
- Pick a plan and pay. Card or cash; the tourist-friendly tiers start at €10 for 28 days.
- Confirm it works before you leave. Data should be live within minutes. If it isn’t, the store fixes it faster than any helpline will.
Two traps hide inside that simple process. First, the document itself: bring the physical passport, not a photo of it on your phone. Second, location. Airport shops sell convenience; I’d buy the same €10 plan in a city-centre store instead. If you land without data, that’s exactly the situation a pre-installed eSIM exists to solve.
One passport note while you’re at it: Spain’s border process changed in 2026, and my Spain entry requirements guide covers the EES biometric checks you’ll pass before any SIM store.
Movistar vs Vodafone vs Orange: Which Prepaid Plan Wins?
Movistar is the safe answer, but not the biggest allowance. Its €10 Prepago Plus includes 60 GB, unlimited national and EU calls, 15 GB of roaming in the EU and the UK, and 28 days of validity (Movistar, 2026). Vodafone’s €10 Prepago S carries 90 GB (Vodafone, 2026). Orange’s Prepago 10 carries 80 GB (Orange, 2026). Yoigo, the budget brand, gives 25 GB for the same money (Yoigo, 2026).
| Carrier | €10 plan | Data per 28 days | EU roaming data | Calls in Spain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Movistar | Prepago Plus | 60 GB, plus 10 GB at each renewal | 15 GB | Unlimited |
| Vodafone | Prepago S | 90 GB, unused data rolls over | 15 GB | Unlimited |
| Orange | Prepago 10 | 80 GB (60 GB plus a 20 GB bonus) | 15 GB | 5,000 minutes |
| Yoigo | Prepago 25 GB | 25 GB | Check at purchase | Check at purchase |
The best network hands you the least data, and that’s the trade. Movistar’s premium is network quality, not gigabytes, and for city-only itineraries that premium is arguably wasted.
So pick your Spain SIM card by itinerary, not by brand. Sticking to Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and the coast? Vodafone’s 90 GB is the value play, and every network is strong in the cities. Heading into rural Andalusia, Extremadura or walking a Camino route? Movistar’s reliability lead, covered below, is worth the smaller bundle. Movistar, Vodafone and Orange each include 15 GB of EU roaming data, which covers a side trip to Lisbon or Paris on the same SIM.
If you need more than 60 GB on Movistar, its prepaid tiers jump steeply: €15 buys 240 GB and €20 buys 300 GB.
What’s the Best eSIM for Spain?
A Spain eSIM with 10 GB over 30 days costs €13 on Airalo’s own listing, running on the Orange network (Airalo, 2026). That’s enough data for maps, translation, bookings and social posting across a one-to-two-week trip. Travel eSIMs aren’t a niche product anymore. Juniper Research expected travel eSIM spending to reach $1.8 billion by the end of 2025, up 85% on 2024 (Juniper Research, 2025).
Three decisions matter when you buy:
- Spain-only vs Europe-wide. Spain-only plans are cheapest per GB. Pay the Europe premium only if your trip actually crosses borders.
- Data-only vs plans with a number. Most travel eSIMs are data-only, which is fine: WhatsApp, iMessage and every app you use run on data. You only need a Spanish number for local voice calls.
- Install before you fly, activate on arrival. Do the QR-code setup on hotel or home Wi-Fi the day before departure, then switch the line on when you land. Never leave it for the airport.
Check compatibility first; it takes ten seconds. On iPhone, dial *#06# and look for an EID number; the same code works on Android. No EID, no eSIM, and the previous section’s physical SIM is your route. Then slot the saving into my real Spain trip budget breakdown, where €10 of data sits next to every other number your trip will hit.
How Good Are Spain’s Networks Once You’re Connected?
Better than many visitors’ home networks. In Opensignal’s April 2026 report for Spain, Movistar won the Best Network award, with outright wins for download speed, reliability and consistent quality, while DIGI had the fastest 5G downloads at 260.4 Mbps (Opensignal, 2026). Telefónica reports 95% 5G coverage in Spain for Movistar (Telefónica, 2026).
That reliability lead is where your choice shows. Inland Extremadura, the mountains of Asturias and León, and stretches of rural Galicia are where the gap between networks appears, and where budget brands that ride on another operator’s network can drop back. If you’re driving the white villages or walking between Camino stages, expect 4G rather than 5G in places, and occasional dead zones in the hills. Download offline maps for those days, whichever Spain SIM card you carry.
How Much Data Do You Actually Need for a Spain Trip?
I budget 1 to 2 GB a day for heavy tourist use, which makes a 10 GB eSIM comfortable for ten days if hotel Wi-Fi handles your evenings. Navigation, translation, restaurant searches and messaging are light. What actually burns data abroad is automatic photo backup and autoplay video, so set cloud backup to Wi-Fi only on day one.
My rough guide by traveller type:
- Light (0.5 GB/day): maps, messaging, email, the odd search. A 10 GB plan covers about 20 days.
- Normal (1-1.5 GB/day): all of the above plus social scrolling, photo uploads, music streaming on trains.
- Heavy (2-3 GB/day): video calls home, streaming, hotspot use for a laptop or a travel partner’s phone.
That hotspot line deserves a number. When I ran two phones off one 60 GB Movistar SIM for a fortnight, tethering the second phone roughly doubled daily usage but still left over 20 GB unused at the end. One generous Spain SIM card shared by hotspot is the money-saver for couples, and it’s a €10 line in the trip budget. Add “unlocked phone, eSIM installed” to your pre-flight checklist alongside my Spain packing list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need my passport to buy a SIM card in Spain?
Yes. Since November 2007, Ley 25/2007 has required operators to register every prepaid customer’s name, nationality and identity document, so the store records your passport before activating the card (BOE, 2007). Bring the physical passport. eSIMs from international providers skip registration.
Can I buy a SIM card at Madrid or Barcelona airport?
Yes. You’ll find SIM sellers at the big airports, but I’d buy in a city-centre carrier store, where Movistar’s plan is €10 for 60 GB (Movistar, 2026). If you need data the second you land, a pre-installed eSIM beats both queues.
Is an eSIM better than a physical SIM for Spain?
For stays under about three weeks on a compatible phone, yes. It’s installed before you fly, needs no passport registration and costs €13 for 10 GB over 30 days on Airalo’s listing (Airalo, 2026). Local physical SIMs win on data per euro, 60 to 90 GB for €10, for longer stays.
Will my phone work in Spain?
Almost certainly, if it’s unlocked. Spain’s networks are strong: Movistar reports 95% 5G coverage, and Opensignal named it Spain’s best network in April 2026 (Opensignal, 2026). The one thing to check before flying is a carrier lock, because a locked phone rejects any Spanish SIM or eSIM.
How much does a Spain SIM card cost?
A Spain SIM card costs €10 for a 28-day prepaid plan: 60 GB on Movistar, 80 GB on Orange or 90 GB on Vodafone, each with 15 GB of EU roaming (operators’ own pages, October 2026). Spain eSIMs start at €13 for 10 GB over 30 days on Airalo. Prices shift every few months, so check the operator’s page before you buy.
The Best SIM Card for Spain: The Bottom Line
The Spain SIM card decision comes down to three rules and one law.
- Short trip, eSIM-capable phone: buy a Spain eSIM (€13 for 10 GB) before you fly and land connected.
- Long stay, heavy data, or no eSIM support: a city-store prepaid SIM is the value pick, with 60 to 90 GB for €10 depending on carrier.
- Never day-pass roam from North America: ten days at $12 a day costs about ten times the local alternative.
- The law: physical SIMs require your identity document at purchase, everywhere in Spain. That single rule is the eSIM’s biggest advantage in Spain.
A guide quoting last year’s gigabytes is how people end up overpaying at airport kiosks, which is why this one carries a verification date.
Data sorted? Put the €10 where it belongs with my day-by-day Spain trip budget, or start at the top with the complete Spain travel guide.
Planning the rest of your trip? My guides cover entry requirements, packing, safety, and getting around by train. Subscribe and we’ll send the update whenever a price on this page changes.
